How to Play the Spanish Guitar

The Spanish guitar is a very versatile instrument that originated in Europe during late medieval period and Renaissance. This article gives you some information on how to play the Spanish guitar.

The Spanish guitar is not actually a type of guitar, but rather it is the style of playing a classical or acoustic guitar. Historians studying the origin and evolution of music have concluded and put forth many theories about its origin; however, none of them are concrete. Its basic principle is that the strings of the similar classical instrument are plucked or strummed to the metronome and rhythm of the Flamenco, a dance that is performed in many places throughout Europe and America. It must be noted that the Flamenco and the Spanish instruments are two different concepts, though they are closely related. In short, the Spanish type is nothing but an acoustic guitar that belongs to the chordophones family. The conventional one is made out of wood and has metallic or nylon strings. Modern electric ones are pretty easy to play and master. Though the Spanish instrument is played on the principles and notations, there is a vast amount of difference between the two, and Spanish one is certainly very difficult to master. It is also the most melodious and sweet sounding among all the others.

Learning to Play

As mentioned above, this is one of the most melodious musical instruments. Personally, I would advise that you learn on your own, by which I mean start strumming and keep practicing. This requires a lot of patience, perseverance, and practice.

Plucking Hand

This is an instrument that is plucked. The process of plucking is referred to as finger plucking. In this technique, the individual strings are plucked with fingers while playing. Finger plucking can be pretty difficult, as you need to exert an immensely balanced pressure on the strings. Another very important part is controlling the vibrations on the strings. A very important exercise that I do every day before practicing is that I simply pluck the strings, and try to control them. Perfection can be achieved only through a continuous practice. To get a pure note, the pressure of plucking the strings must be efficient - not too much or not too less. It is also important that you learn to use all your fingers, as all the five of them can be put to use. Playing with all five fingers is rather difficult, and requires a lot of patient practice. You can start off by playing with the four fingers, excluding the thumb.

Fretting Hand

The fretting hand is a very important aspect of playing, as it determines the scale and notations that you are playing. The fretting hand has to perform basically two functions, playing the chords and playing the scales. A chord is basically a group of notes, which can be gripped on the fret board. This grip is easy to hold, and after a decent amount of practice, you should be able to hold down the strings in the grip in a convenient and comfortable manner. Many people ignore the aspect of practicing the scales once they have mastered the chords. However, it is absolutely necessary to practice the scales along with the chords.

To get the notations of the scales and chords, refer to the tabs that are available on the Internet. Quite a few books have also been written on these concepts. If you are familiar to the concepts of staff and quotes, then you can also enjoy playing the melodious classical compositions. Remember, it is important to feel music rather than mechanically play it.

One must always remember a famous comment by the noted bassist, Victor Wooten, "the instrument does not make the music ... you do!"